


Thought you'd never get over him getting over you

by yellowteapots



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Friends to Lovers, High School, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pining, friends first
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-17
Updated: 2013-03-17
Packaged: 2017-12-05 14:25:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/724317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yellowteapots/pseuds/yellowteapots
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis is upset after his boyfriend of two years dumps him. Harry, his long suffering best friend knows he’s the one Louis’ really meant to be with but he’s never had the courage to say anything. He knows he can take away the hurt but he doesn’t know how to tell Louis that he could be his cure.<br/>Or<br/>The one shamelessly based on ‘Heartbreak Girl’ by Five Seconds of Summer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Thought you'd never get over him getting over you

Harry had always been best friends with Louis, well for as long as he can remember anyway. But he hasn’t always been in love with him, although it kind of feels like he has.  
Everything he saw Louis his heart would summersault and beat out a different rhythm. He couldn’t help but smile when he was around him, dimples showing almost constantly on his blushing cheeks. It was a little scary at first, when he grew up thinking love was just between a man and a woman, realising that he might be in love with another man but there was something about Louis that just made him feel safe, cared about and happier than he was around anyone else. He always wanted to be near his best friend, craving his attention if they were in a group, and the days he treasured most were the ones they spent together, in solitude, at each other’s houses just hanging out watching films until they both fell asleep.  
There was a time when Harry was pretty sure that Louis felt the same way. Sometimes he would catch him staring or laughing at a joke that Harry knew was ridiculous and not worth the bark of laughter which would peel out of the older lad. Other times, though, Louis would say something which would make Harry’s heart skip in anticipation, leaving him waiting for the words he was constantly hoping to hear, or Louis would get more touchy than normal and Harry would find himself leaning into his friends embrace to be considered just friendly.  
Everything was going great, going exactly the way he planned - or so Harry thought - until they turned fifteen. Louis had confided to Harry that he was gay over the summer and Harry couldn’t help but feel overjoyed as another piece seemed to fall in to place, the first tiny rays of hope starting to grow with each new development. Tears streamed down Louis’ face as he murmured out the words into Harry’s curls and Harry cradled him tightly in his arms using his thin fingers to wiping the tears away from his blue eyes, all the while assuring him that he’d always be his best friend no matter what.  
“Louis, you know it doesn’t matter to me because you’re still my best friend because this has always been you. Who you fall in love with would never upset me as long as you’re happy then that’s all that I care about. Heck, you could love Mrs Jenner and, even though she’s about seventy, I’d still love you the same.”  
He earned a small chuckle and Louis hugged him back. It was all Harry could do not to inhale and take in the sweet, fruity smell of his friends’ hair which he had already committed to memory.  
Harry admired Louis for telling him, was jealous even that Louis had the courage to say what he felt. The truth was that Harry wasn’t sure what he was, he didn’t know what he defined himself as, he’d never been as confident as Louis, but he did know he was in love with his best friend. He thinks he’s always known since they first met.  
He’d never forget the day he first met Louis, the first time green met blue. They had started school the same year, but were in different class so it was purely coincidence that they’d bumped into each other in the toilets at lunchtime. They’d clicked instantly, something between the two boys that just pulled them together, connecting them, and before they knew it lunch was over but they’d each gained a best friend.  
There was no separating them after that, they were forever seen together both inside school and out and it was more odd to see them apart than it was to see Harry, who despite being younger had always been the tallest, giving Louis a piggyback down the corridor whilst Louis demanded that their classmates, or ‘peasants’, would move out of the way of his ‘noble stead’. The time soon came when the duo found themselves in the same class and since then they’d practically been living in each other’s pockets, each knowing the other more than they knew themselves. They never had secrets and that’s the way it stayed, almost, because there were some things that you just couldn’t tell your best friend no matter how close you are.  
After Louis’ confession, Harry was so sure that things were going to work out that the same day, after Louis had gone home, he blurted out to his mum how he felt about Louis and she beamed with pride, tears shining in her eyes, and told her son to go for it and that it was about time. Everything was going perfectly, heading in the right direction.  
That was until Louis got his first boyfriend and Harry felt his heart turn to lead and sink lower and lower in his chest until he thought it would simply fall out. It was as if Louis hated Harry because each fleeting remark about Finn – what sort of name was that anyway Harry thought – cut into Harry, hurting him a bit more each time.  
Of course, he pretended to be happy for Louis – how could he not? But as soon as he found an opportunity to leave, Harry found himself running home into the arms of his mum and crying himself to sleep. It felt like someone was stabbing him in the heart, not enough to kill him but in a way that made him wish that it would.  
For the next two years Harry was utterly miserable. Virtually inconsolable. He had to watch Louis everyday around school with Finn, sickeningly in love and try not to wish it was him that Louis was giving that smile to. And, on the rare occasion he and Louis would hang out, all he would hear about was how simply amazing Finn was and how much Louis adored him and it broke Harrys’ heart a bit more each time.  
If Harry didn’t want to know about how gorgeous Finn’s brown eyes were, or how his hair fell perfectly over his face, or the way his freckles lined his cheeks looking like a constellation, then he certainly didn’t want to know how Finn’s lips tasted when he and Louis shared their first kiss - which should have been his and Louis’ first kiss - or how Finn made Louis’ stomach flip just by smiling. Because that’s what Harry should have been doing. And he couldn’t help but wonder if he had said something earlier then he and Louis might be together now.  
It’s not that he didn’t want Louis to be happy because he did; he so desperately wanted his best friend – and possible love of his life – to be happy that he had convinced himself to accept it and was eventually coming round to the idea of Louis being happy with Finn, as much as he wished it was him. Louis seemed so happy but there was always the niggling thought at the back of Harry’s mind that he was the one Louis ought to be with.  
When they were seventeen, Harry was used to the idea of Louis with a boyfriend that wasn’t him. He could tell that Finn treated Louis awfully, regularly standing him up or constantly questioning everything he did which embarrassed him in front of his friends, and Harry knew he would put Louis on a pedestal if the roles were reversed and some days he just wanted to yell because he was so good to Louis that it was unfair that he wasn’t the one who got to be with him.  
Harry wasn’t thrilled when he found out that Louis and Finn had broken up, although he probably should have been. He couldn’t stand it when his best friend turned up late on a Friday night, in January, tears streaking down his cheeks and eyes puffy and red – the complete opposite of the Louis that Harry knew and loved. His hair looked dishevelled and he looked so completely broken that Harry felt himself surging forwards and wrapping his arms around the smaller boy, pulling him into a bone crushing hug.  
“He…he doesn’t want me, Harry, he doesn’t…love me any more,” Louis sniffed, clinging tightly to Harry’s hoody with his fists balled up somewhere in the baggy material, before sobbing uncontrollably into Harry’s shoulder, dampening the curls at the nape of his neck.  
Harry ran his hands through Louis caramel hair, “Hush Boo, he doesn’t deserve your tears, okay? You’re so amazing, don’t you ever forget that.”  
Peppering light kisses on top of Louis head, he picked him up, easily cradling him close to his chest, and carried his sobbing frame up the stairs to Harry’s bedroom.  
“You can stay here tonight Lou, I’ll call your mum and let her know.” Harry put him gently on the bed, pulling the duvet up so Louis could nestle underneath it should he choose. “I’ll sleep on the floor.”  
“No…no…Harry don’t leave me, sleep here…with me,” he felt Louis grab his arm as he turned to get the phone and make up a bed on the floor. “Please?”  
That night was the worst of Harry’s life. He just couldn’t get Louis to stop crying long enough to tell him what happened. He hated watching his best friend cry, it made him feel completely helpless so instead of trying to force out an explanation he just stroked Louis’ hair soothingly and just lay with him, cuddling close and whispering encouragement, all night until they woke up together, matching dark circles underneath their eyes, the next morning.  
When he eventually found out why Louis was so upset he decided he was going to kill Finn, painfully. Kill the bastard who thought it was okay to cheat on Louis. He’d been right all along and he just wanted to scream about how he was so much better for Louis than Finn ever was and that he would never treat Louis in such a way because he deserved the best and that’s exactly what Harry would give him, but he couldn’t say anything and maybe that was the worst bit.  
He could never say anything because they were friends. Friends, perpetually stuck in the friend zone. Louis wouldn’t appreciate his advances, especially not now, so Harry decided to wait and hopefully Louis would see that he’d been there all along.  
*  
Harry had just got in after a game of footy, with Niall, Liam and Zayn, when his phone started to ring, vibrating loudly against the coffee table. It was getting late, the sky already an inky blue and where it was unusually unclouded he could see the silver sliver of the moon. Normally Harry wouldn’t be in the mood to talk to anyone after a game but, after checking the caller ID and seeing that it was Louis who was calling, he answered the phone and let it rest between his ear and his shoulder as he pulled of his sweaty clothes ready for a shower.  
It was becoming a habit now, Louis calling Harry every few nights or whenever he needed some sort of comfort or reassurance, and, as much as he wanted Louis to get better, he was beginning to sound like a broken record.  
“Hey Lou,” Harry mumbled, tugging away at his sock, before winning and sending it flying towards the washing basket.  
“Harry,” Louis’ voice pleaded through the phone. There was a pause, like Louis was having some sort of internal conflict. “Actually, you know what, don’t worry. You must be sick of me by now.”  
Giving up with getting undressed, Harry held the phone in his hands. “Never, Lou. Come on, what’s up?”  
“It’s just, I know it sounds stupid, but my heart hurts. Like all the time. And I can’t help it, I just miss him.” Harry wanted to be annoyed, Louis should be over Finn by now and by that he means falling into his arms, but he could never be mad at Louis, not Louis. Not when he sounded so broken.  
Harry was beginning to think that Louis would never get over Finn moving on. It was like he was stuck in a heart-breaking cycle that he was destined to stay in. It would just seem like Louis was ready to move on and put the past behind him, when something would remind him of Finn or he’d see him at school with his new boyfriend and it would send Louis spiralling back down, self-confidence at a new low.  
He could hear Louis beginning to sob at the other end of the line and that made Harry’s heart hurt – knowing there was nothing that he could do or say to make things better.  
Sometimes he’d end up lying and telling Louis all the things that he wanted to hear, trying to made himself, and Louis, believe that maybe Finn would take Louis back if only he saw how Louis was moving on, but deep down he knew it was a lost cause. Louis, on the other hand, seemed adamant that Finn was just going through some phase and had managed to convince himself that he would eventually come crawling back.  
But he never did.  
At times, Harry would wonder why he still bothered trying to help Louis, when he was so far beyond help, but he knew there was nothing he could do to stop himself, trying to do anything he could to fix him. That’s what any good friend would do, and it wasn’t just because Harry was a little bit in love with everything Louis did, however stupid it was.  
“Lou, honestly, you deserve so much better than him. I don’t think you understand how lucky someone would be to have you, and if they were stupid enough to ever let you go they’re the biggest fool in the world, because there are people out there who would literally kill to earn even a tiny bit of your heart.”  
The cries got quieter until Harry could only hear a few shaky breaths.  
“You think?” Came the muffled reply.  
“I know.” And boy did he mean it. He’d come so close too many times to telling Louis how much he actually wanted him, loved everything about him, but he knew Louis wasn’t ready for that. He had to bite his tongue and, yeah, it was ridiculously frustrating but he was willing to wait until the day that Louis would finally forget the day he met Finn and he would realise that he belonged with Harry instead.  
“Thanks Haz, thanks for being my best friend. I love you.”  
“Love you too.”  
But Harry knew only one of them meant it the way he wanted.  
*  
It never seemed to end. For months Harry would get calls from Louis and sometimes they didn’t even speak, he just listened to Louis crying down the phone, unable to even choke out words, and then he would end up driving over to Louis’ house and they’d curl up together, Harry’s arms wrapped protectively around Louis, until the older boy fell asleep with his head against the younger boys chest. And Harry would just lie next to him and watch his best friend’s chest rise and fall until he fell asleep too, wishing their closeness was for a different reason.  
To Harry, and to everyone around them, it seemed so obvious that he adored Louis and would do anything for him, above and beyond his duties as best friend, but Louis never saw the truth, maybe because he was too busy letting Harry fix his broken heart. He would catch Louis’ mum, or even his own mum, shooting him a sympathetic, yet knowing look, or maybe one of the boys would say something and Harry would wonder why Louis hadn’t realised yet.

*  
Louis had been getting better recently, he never cried any more and Finn was never mentioned, and he and Harry were beginning to fall back into their old routine again, just being the best friends that they always had been. Nothing more, nothing less. But there was a definite change in their dynamic, some sort of elephant in the room that nobody wanted to talk about.  
When the day finally came that Louis was ready, they were lying on Harry’s bed, staring out of the skylight and up at the stars beginning to appear in the sky, music playing on a quiet volume filling the silence, with their legs lightly touching and their heads close together on the pillow. There was a slight gap between where their feet lay, Louis being that much shorter than Harry, but their hips still managed to bump together when Harry rolled to the side to face him.  
“Hey Lou, I’ve missed this you know.”  
Louis hummed, “Me too. I’ve missed you.”  
“Oh stop it you, you’re making me blush.” Harry swatted Louis with his wrist, trying not to let it get to him too much because friends. But there were still a few butterflies that managed to manifest themselves somewhere in Harrys’ stomach.  
Louis cheeks coloured and he went silent. “Like it when you blush, ‘specially with your dimples.”  
“Hmm?”  
Louis nodded bashfully and the pair fell into another companionable silence. The music played on in the background, some alternative band that Harry had discovered a few weeks before and become obsessed with. It wasn’t like his usual stuff though, a bit more upbeat than usual, but he liked it and the chords and lyrical accompaniment just felt like it fit so well to his current situation.  
“Louis I’ve been meaning to tell you something…” Harry began just as a new song started to play through the speakers. “And I don’t know if it’s too soon or too stupid or what, but I’ve been feeling a certain way for a while now and I just thought it was right that you should know.”  
Louis cocked an eyebrow, “Know what?”  
“That I kind of maybe sort of like you.” He blurted, hand swiftly flying up to cover his mouth. “Oh God, sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything.”  
“No Harry. That’s great because that means that I can do this.”  
Before Harry could say anything else, he suddenly felt the press of another pair of lips on his own; Louis’. The unfamiliar pressure was nice, amazing even, and all he could think of was how long he had wanted this for, how long he has wished he was in the position where Louis would kiss him and know he was. Neither said anything, as they pulled back but Harry was wearing a goofy grin and the smile lit up his face like a Christmas tree.  
“You mean, you don’t mind?” Harry felt his cheeks colour, felt like a school girl, as Louis lifted his small hand up to cup Harrys’ cheek and began to softly stroke it with his thumb, sending little tingles all the way down Harrys’ spine.  
“Why would I mind Harry? I like you too.”  
He felt his jaw go slack, “Y...you do? But what abou-”  
“I don’t know why I didn’t realise it sooner Harry because, it’s always been you - of course it has. I went out with Finn to make you jealous, at least to start with. And then you seemed so happy for me that I thought I didn’t have a chance with you, not ever, so I let myself really fall for him and I realise now how stupid I was because you were there staring me in the face, treating me so much better than he ever did, and I never even realised. Why did I never realise?”  
Louis recaptured Harrys’ lips, tentatively at first then, as they found each other pace, their lips began to move slowly against each other and Harry thought that he might just explode a bit, but that could wait because he was kissing Louis and combusting right now would not be a good idea. Between kisses Harry managed to mumble, “Because you’re stupid.”  
That was clearly the wrong thing to say, or maybe it was the right thing, because all of a sudden Harry felt Louis hangs tangling in to his curls, pulling them from the very base, eliciting a moan from the younger boy. “And a bit blind.”  
“Shut up, Haz.” Louis scolded, rolling over on top of Harry so that he was straddling him on the bed, kissing deeper and with more fervour than before. “And kiss me like you mean it.”  
And who was Harry to question it? He let Louis kiss him, and he kissed back, trailing kisses along his best friends jaw then down his neck, wanting to kiss every part of the boy that he’d loved for so long, scared that if he didn’t do it now that he might never get the chance to do it again. Louis gasped, which only encouraged Harry all the more to leave more open mouthed kisses down all the way to his shoulder.  
Finding his way back up to Louis’ lips, Harry did his best to memorise every little detail and something changed within him that he couldn’t name and it was the best feeling he’d ever had. The years of pining after Louis and all the pain and heartbreak that Harry had felt was all worth it for this moment and he would do it again and again if he could just spend forever like this, in Louis’ arms.  
“Why haven’t we been doing this the whole time?” Harry muttered, after they both fell back against the bed panting, lips swollen from kissing in a way that made Harry want to run his tongue over them just to get another taste of Louis. it may not have been Louis’ first kiss but it was Harrys’ and it was their first kiss together and it was perfect.  
It might not have been how Harry had always imagined it, but it was so much better. The day had arrived were Louis could be his and he couldn’t be happier because this was all he had ever wanted and it was happening. It was actually happening.  
“Christ knows, but maybe we should make up for lost time.” Louis smiled, letting his hand fall between their bodies and grip tightly on to Harrys’, much bigger, hand.  
And then, Harry thinks Louis had finally realised that Harry was his cure all along.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading my first fic for AO3. Hope you enjoyed it because the idea just hit me and this happened. So yeah, hope it was worth the read :)


End file.
